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Want to raise kind kids? Make their world more diverse.
The Christmas season is here. As we sing songs about peace on earth, goodwill toward men, I’d like to chat about what has become a vaguely loaded subject. Parents, pull up a chair. Let’s talk...
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What kind of year has it been?
A year of kindergarten special education in one photo I’m in a reflective mood this evening. Tomorrow is my youngest’s last day of kindergarten, and my oldest’s of third grade. I’ll spare you the...
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Lina’s Bakery & Sweet Shoppe
We celebrated Lina’s 6th birthday on Sunday. The theme came naturally for a girl who never met a sweet she didn’t like. In fact, when I asked her what she wanted to eat at her party, she rattled off...
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Now We Are Six
When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I’m as...
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Corin begins third grade
There is nothing quiet like the bittersweet ache of these first days… Looking through the lens of my camera this morning nearly took my breath away. I could swear he just started kindergarten. This is...
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Memorial Day weekend, huzzah!
Our holiday weekend was full of some of my favorite things: outdoor adventures, memory-making and family. We started with a picnic Saturday along the Natchez Trace, followed by a hike that quickly...
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Easter and Luke turns 5
This past weekend was beautifully rich and packed with family celebration. It began on Saturday morning with the remarkable SonRise pageant held every year on the campus of Southern Adventist...
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Welcome to the jungle: Corin turns 8
Corin loves monkeys and requested a jungle party this year. My brother’s family came for the weekend, which meant lots of great cousin time for the kiddos. March 18 fell on a Sunday, so we got to...
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Here comes the Spiderman
This is an embarrassingly overdue post, but I finally got photos edited from my oldest nephew’s birthday on September 3. Ben turned seven, and we had a Spiderman-themed family celebration. The kids...
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It’s a zoo around here…
Thanks to primary.com for getting me started with the costume ideas and for the clothing basics that will live on well past trick-or-treating. Such a fun night, even if Lina did refuse to wear the mane...
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Happy birthday, Mimi!
The “kids” in Jon’s family – meaning his brothers, sister-in-law and the two of us – realized ahead of our Rosemary Beach trip that it was likely to be our best chance at having everyone all together...
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Five years a super star
My baby turned five last week. I could say a lot about that, but I want to share some photos from her party, so I am going to hold my peace with the emotional musings for now. I settled on a super...
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Through the wardrobe
Corin turned seven on Saturday. I wrote my mushy post on Facebook, so I’ll skip the sentiment and get right to the good stuff: his Narnia party. We’d been reading Prince Caspian when he chose the...
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The “Oh, oh, oh” book
My mom learned to read with the Dick and Jane books. I learned to read with the Dick and Jane books. Corin’s first experience reading out loud was with – you guessed it – a Dick and Jane book. Lina...
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The (mis)adventures of Captain Ninja
My son is obsessed with superheroes. He recently read the first book in the Captain Awesome series by Stan Kirby. As a result, his first project this morning, on our first day back from vacation and...
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Celebrating our bookworm
I love my kids’ birthday parties. I love planning them, I love watching everyone enjoy them, I love the photos and memories afterward. The theme for Lina’s 4th birthday party pretty well chose itself....
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Ben is six!
We’ll be celebrating Lina’s birthday this weekend, so those photos will be forthcoming. But she’s not the only kiddo in the family to have a birthday in September. My oldest nephew turned six a couple...
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Three for one more night
Tonight, for the last time in my parenting experience, I put a three-year-old to bed. Tomorrow, she will be four, and the girl who just weeks ago would rarely put two words together will hand me a book...
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Eight pounds of berries and a happy 4th
Sister threw up a couple times last night for reasons unknown, so our originally planned family berry picking outing turned into a mommy/Brother date. His “I’ve been done with this for a while now”...
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